Our master bedroom is quite large and the wall behind our bed just felt so daunting. When it was the same colour as the rest of the room, it just felt like we were inside a grey box. We tried painting the wall in a ‘feature colour’ and it just felt like one large coloured wall. A wallpaper feature seemed like it would just be one large overwhelming wall of pattern.
What we decided on was a wall with dimension in a deep and moody paint colour. Custom millwork (DIY) and a navy blue seemed like the perfect idea.
Because of the size of the room, the nine foot ceilings and large amount of natural light, the dark colour wasn’t of any concern. Navy was also the accent choice to be consistent with other spaces in our home (see Powder Room Reveal).
Deciding on a Pattern
I’m super visual and so I wanted to get a sense of what things would look like before we started cutting boards and nailing them up! My trick is that I use graph paper for everything. It allows me to draw my ideas on paper and compare different designs.
I drew a few different options with a dotted line of where the bed would be so I could visualize the finished space. This process also gave me an idea of how much material I would need for the project.
What You Need:
- Measuring Tape
- MDF Trim Boards
- Mitre Saw
- Sand Paper
- Caulking & Caulking Gun
- Wood Filler
- Paint
- Finishing Nails
- Air Nailer & Compressor
- Level
Don’t have some of these tools? You can always rent them from a local big box hardware store.
The Process of DIY Millwork
We purchased some MDF trim boards, marked out our measurements, cut the boards to size and installed with an air nail gun. It’s important to ensure that the boards are all level before securing them into the wall. We found the easiest thing to do was install the vertical boards first.
We then added the horizontal board sections. My husband filled and sanded all of the joints and caulked all of the edges before we painted so that everything would be finished properly.
This is an incredibly inexpensive and great DIY project. The best thing about it is that you can put the boards up in any pattern that you want! There are so many geometric possibilities! (For inspo, check out my Millwork Pinterest Board!)
Something worth noting is that if you are going with a dark paint colour, you may have to do several coats to get the proper coverage and depth you require. Some of the edges on the trim board and caulked seams took multiple coats.
All the extra work was worth it! The deep colour looks fantastic and really makes the millwork pop! It’s also the perfect contrast to our grey bed frame.
Paint colour: Indigo Ink
Before & After
Once the wall was completed, I couldn’t believe how much larger the space appeared! The millwork made our room look both wider and taller! It’s amazing how much dimension it gave the space. I love how it took our boring drywalled box of a bedroom up a level.
